Overactive bladder can occur in both men and women. It is a condition characterised by involuntary detrusor muscle contractions during the phase of urine collection in the bladder, which contractions may be spontaneous or provoked and can not be controlled by a person. Clinical manifestations of overactive bladder are: urinary frequency, nocturia, urinary urgency and/or urinary urge incontinence. These symptoms may occur separately or in conjunction.
Urinary frequency is defined by most authors as voiding more than 8 times per day, nocturia as the need to void during the night, between midnight and 6 am. Increased urinary urgency is defined as the number of urge episodes per month or per day and the length of time that the urge to void can be overcome before emptying the bladder. The most extreme form of urinary urgency is urinary urge incontinence, which results in episodes of urinary incontinence due to the inability to reach a toilet in time.
Current medical treatment in cases where a symptom or symptoms of overactive bladder are present involves administration of pharmacological agents.
Known methods of pharmacological treatment of overactive bladder involve administering anticholinergic agents, for example such as oxybutynin, tolterodine etc. (see e.g. Patent Specification EP325571B1, 1991), scopolamine and propantheline (see: J. P. Weiss and J. G. Blaivas, Nocturia, J. Urol. 163, 5–12 (2000). Anticholinergic agents suppress detrusor activity and inhibit normal voiding by blocking the parasympathetic system. They also show systemic activity, again by acting on the parasympathetic system, which results in side effects, including mucosal dryness, reduction in gastric secretion within the gastrointestinal tract and suppression of intestinal motility.
Aside from adverse effects, there are numerous contraindications to treatment using anticholinergic agents, such as glaucoma, cardiac arrhythmia and urinary retention.
Estrogen supplementation, pelvic floor exercises and behavioural exercises, such as voiding at certain specified times, also play a role in alleviating symptoms of overactive bladder.
The object of this invention is to provide a method of treating overactive bladder in women without the adverse effects associated with the pharmacological treatment mentioned above and to improve the quality of life of women affected by this condition.